Spider Quinn 19 Making the News Amidst the Storms Part 8

 

Sandi hung up from the third member of the AV Club she had called. “No one,” she murmured. Then the phone rang again.

 

“Hi, this Sandi.”

 

“Samara Collins here. I’m letting you know that I did tape the interview, and I’m heading to the Historia now and will give it to Daria after the performance finishes.”

 

“Thanks for letting me know.”

 

 

There was chatter amongst those in the café when Samara arrived at the Historia. She looked at the clock. “Another hour. May as well have supper.”

 

As she had her supper, she thought about the changes in Lawndale in the past few months.

 

 

After the play had ended for the night, Samara found Daria backstage talking to Brittany.

 

“You did very well,’ Daria said.

 

“Thanks,” Brittany said. “Tomorrow night should be slightly better.”

 

“Good. But now I have to deal with this fake SpiderGirl business,” Daria said.

 

Brittany nodded. “I want it to be dealt with too.”

 

“Daria?” Samara asked.

 

“Yes?” Daria responded.

 

“Samara Collins, in the AV Club.”

 

“You have the tape?” Daria asked.

 

“Yes,” Samara answered as she handed it over. “But it’s after a lot of other stuff.”

 

“That’s fine. I’ll make a copy and give this back to you later,” Daria said.

 

“Thanks.”

 

 

“I’ll come over later,” Daria said to said to Sandi. “We can analyse it together then.”

 

“Just as well it’s Friday night,” Sandi said as she looked at the clock. ‘Already after 9:30,’ she thought. “Mother won’t complain too much.”

 

“Just make sure Sam’s already in bed. I’m sure he already knows too much.”

 

“Oh, he’s already asleep,” Sandi responded.

 

“Good to hear. It’ll be the usual time.”

 

 

It was after 10:00 when a group including Daria, Quinn, Jane, Stacy, Tori, Brittany, Jennifer and Tania met at Schloss Morgendorffer to examine the interview.

 

Helen looked on in bemusement at the eclectic group as Daria put the tape in the VCR. “I hope you’ll be able to prove that Anders was being irresponsible,” she said.

 

“I’m sure that we will, Mrs. Morgendorffer,” Jane said.

 

“OK, Samara said to fast forward,” Daria said as she handled the remote. “But she didn’t say how far.”

 

 

Daria soon found footage. She turned to Jane. “I’m sure that you’re the only one here that has seen her.”

 

“I have too,” Brittany piped up.

 

“You too?” Daria asked.

 

“Yes. She carried me home one night, in early December,” Brittany said. “And she took me to the hospital when I slipped earlier this week.”

 

“OK,” Daria said. There was something, careful, about how Brittany said that. She shook her head. That wasn’t what she wanted to think about, but she did recall that one of the early newspaper articles mentioned a cheerleader being carried by SpiderGirl one night, and that Brittany had told her soon after Groundhog Day that she had met SpiderGirl around the time DeMartino had been arrested. “So, you’ll be able to tell as well?”

 

“Yes,” Brittany answered.

 

“That will help with the proof,” Daria said. “OK, we’re at the beginning of the interview.”

 

 

Quinn wasn’t surprised that Brittany had spoken up. ‘She knows how to keep our secret,’ she thought.

 

She watched the interview again.

 

“Pause!” Jane said.

 

“Almost right away,” Daria said as she paused.

 

“She’s too rigid. SpiderGirl’s more animated that that!” Jane explained.

 

‘She’s right,’ Quinn thought.

 

“Like, she moves about more,” Brittany added.

 

“That’s not proof in of itself,” Daria said.

 

“Exactly, we can’t just go with, she’s too stiff,” Quinn added.

 

 

Daria pressed play again.

 

She took notes and Jane sketched as she commented on some things the fake SpiderGirl said in response to Ander’s questions.

 

They went through it twice; the second time as Daria copied it, using an older VCR that she had found in the attic.

 

“What do you think?” Daria asked her mother.

 

“You have plenty of proof with both Jane and Brittany’s recollections. That is enough for Anders to not to have a leg to stand on.”

 

“But someone must have put her up to it,” Quinn said.

 

“True, but there is no proof,” her mother said.

 

“There isn’t,” Quinn said.

 

 

“Another thing,” Tania said.

 

“What is that?” Helen asked.

 

“Whoever was the fake SpiderGirl is not an actor,” Tania answered.

 

“I agree,” Brittany said. “An actor would have been more convincing.”

 

“Like she was chosen at random?” Daria asked. “Or known to Anders or whoever put her up to it?”

 

“That seems likely,” Tori said.

 

“That’s a good point,” Helen said. “But it doesn’t change the fact that there is only evidence against Lynn Anders and whoever else was at the studio who knew that the woman behind the mask is not the real SpiderGirl.”

 

The girls all nodded.

 

“We’ll tell the studio in the morning,” Daria decided.

 

 

They then had a late snack before most of them headed home.

 

 

“…I heard about the fake SpiderGirl thing,” Trent said when Jane had come in. “A few called to inform either you or myself about it. Another called asking if I had taped it.”

 

“Daria managed to find a tape.”

 

“Cool.”

 

“But it’s not cool that someone impersonated SpiderGirl,” Jane said. “What if it was a fake Shadow?”

 

“I see your point. But how are you going to prove it.”

 

“Given that I was rescued by SpiderGirl, alongside the critics last week…”

 

“Got it,” Trent said with a slight smile.”

 

“And Brittany was carried by SpiderGirl sometime late last year, so it won’t just be me.”

 

 

The flurry of calls throughout Lawndale petered out by midnight. Shortly afterwards, Dafoanairi arrived at the Griffin’s and climbed in through Sandi’s bedroom window.

 

“You don’t have to do that here,” Sandi said.

 

“I figure that If you’re doing it at my place…” Daria said as she doffed the cloak and propped the quarterstaff against a wall.

 

“Got it, but what have you figured out.”

 

“It’s definitely a fake,” Daria said before launching into a description of what she and the others had found.

 

 

“I’m certain that Anders will be in serious trouble,” Sandi said when Daria had finished.

 

“Mom, Quinn, Jane, Brittany and I will present our findings to the studio in the morning.”

 

“But Anders was certainly set up.”

 

“I have thought about that, including the fact that others in the studio must have known that it was a fake,” Daria said.

 

“At least a producer, and one or two assistants,” Sandi mused.

 

“And their heads may roll as well as Anders’.”

 

Sandi nodded.

 

 

In the early hours, Ninja Talon arrived on the Morgendorffers’ roof where SpiderGirl had been listening to the town as she usually did. “Hey, Spidey.”

 

“Hey, Talon. Lawndale sounds, pensive.”

 

“Amazing how you seem to pick up on that.”

 

“I just get the general mood,” SpiderGirl explained. “And it’s centered around this neighborhood, which is why I sometimes choose other places to listen from from time to time.”

 

“Anyway…”

 

“I’m sure that Jane’s perspective, as well as yours, will be enough to convince them that Anders did wrong.”

 

“I hope so. But someone else obviously put Anders up to it,” Ninja Talon said.

 

“Norman Osborn. It’s no secret that he’s awake now. But of course, there’s no proof.”

 

“There’s also the person who was the fake SpiderGirl.”

 

“She may have been forced into it,” SpiderGirl said. “Could be some hapless Oscorp employee as far as we know.”

 

“Most likely.”

 

 

At the same time, Fields was unable to sleep. She was pacing the lounge room of her apartment after drinking some cocoa. ‘I’ll go to Osborn early in the morning,’ she thought. But what she would talk to him about, she still wasn’t sure.

 

 

Lawndale Sun-Herald

Saturday, March 3, 2001

Lynn Anders Interviews SpiderGirl, or Does She?

 

SpiderGirl read the article. It was Melinda Parris’s usual speculative style. ‘I guess Mrs. Jericho is waiting on what we find out,’ she thought. She sighed, a lot was riding on how the studio executives would respond. If it ended up as being Anders’ word against the students of Lawndale High who agreed that the interview was fake, she was sure that the tension in Lawndale would continue to increase. She put the paper back and continued her early morning patrol. ‘I hope there won’t be another trap.’

 

 

Fields arrived at a nearby convenience store as the Sun started to rise. She picked up the paper. ‘People were already questioning it last night?’ she asked herself before reading further. “Phones rang hot last night as teenagers who had actually seen SpiderGirl in action questioned whether the person on screen was actually the superheroine that has been the talk of Lawndale for the past several months…”

For the first time since she was in the studio her regret and shame faded a little. ‘I hope that they would see the truth,’ she thought. ‘But what will Osborn’s reaction be?’

 

 

Osborn was awake soon after the sun rose. As soon as the nurse had checked his vitals, he asked her to turn on the television.

 

“Yes, sir.”

 

“Controversy in Lawndale this morning. Did Lynn Anders conduct an interview with a fake SpiderGirl?”

 

“They’re already speculating. Good.”

 

 

“Yes, Eric, this is serious!” Helen said as she saw Quinn enter the kitchen for breakfast. “I can’t let this misinformation stand.”

 

“I don’t want it to blow back on the firm if you’re wrong,” Eric Schecter said.

 

“I know I’m not wrong, something seemed off about SpiderGirl in that interview, and I trust Jane Lane.”

 

“I think you are taking a risk, that’s all. But the Senior Partner has thrown his weight.”

 

“Good,” Helen said. ‘But why would Vitale support me on this?’ she wondered. She shook her head. That wasn’t what she wanted to dwell on. She wanted to continue preparing her case in case the studio wasn’t reasonable.

 

“Thus you can take time to deal with it next week if it’s not dealt with this weekend.’

 

“Thanks. But I’m sure the executives will listen to us.”

 

“Good luck.”

 

 

Tori arrived at the Morgendorffers at the same time as Jane, who clearly looked tired. “Burning the midnight oil?” she asked.

 

“Yes,” Jane answered. “I had to go on a run to clear my mind. And inspiration struck for my streetscape project.”

 

“I see,” Tori said, as she opened the door. She saw that Daria and Quinn were rewatching the video, while their mother was taking notes.

 

“Morning, Tori,” Quinn said.

 

“I see you are making sure you have everything in order,” Tori said.

 

“Absolutely,” Daria said.

 

“We’ll be ready to go soon,” Helen said as she closed as she closed a briefcase.

 

 

It was a busy morning at the Historia. Angie and Stacy could barely keep up with the orders as the café was full of students talking about the fake interview.

 

Sandi was also there, with Harry.

 

“Penny for your thoughts?” Harry asked as she took a slow sip from her cappuccino.

 

“Thinking about Anders’ reason again.”

 

“For staging a fake interview?”

 

“From my brief talk with her on Thursday, I thought she would, like, just be persistently chasing interviews with the vigilantes,” Sandi responded.

 

“So, you’re thinking that someone pushed her, like my father?”

 

“The thought has passed my mind. I’m certain that Daria has thought about it too.”

 

“But he’s still in the hospital,” Harry said uncertainly.

 

“I doubt that would stop him.”

 

“True. He is running Oscorp again, even if it’s part time.”

 

Sandi looked out the window. The usual Saturday morning foot traffic was there, but it seemed a little subdued.

 

 

Brittany was waiting with Ashley-Amber outside the studio when the Morgendorffers, Jane and Tori arrived.

 

“Ashley-Amber?” Helen asked, when she got out of the car.

 

“Hi, Helen. Brittany told me about it,” Ashley-Amber said. “And I got calls from some of the other parents last night.”

 

“Sure,” Helen said.

 

 

“Hey,” Brittany said as she came up between the sisters. “I see that you’re ready.”

 

“As I’ll ever be,” Daria said.

 

“We have to succeed,” Quinn said.

 

“I’m certain we will,” Brittany said in her usual cheerful tone.

 

Quinn smiled. “I know we will.”

 

“That’s the spirit,” Mrs. Morgendorffer said. “But it will take determination.”

 

 

“Do you have an appointment?” the young lady behind the desk asked.

 

“Yes. Morgendorffer at 9:00,” Helen said.

 

“A yes, the complaint about Lynn Anders’ show last night. Lynn Anders is here, as is one of the executives.”

 

“Good.”

 

“Is everyone coming in?” the assistant asked.

 

“Yes.”

 

“It might a tight squeeze in the meeting room.”

 

“I’m sure we can handle it,” Helen said. “Although I might insist on a larger room.”

 

 

Anders hadn’t expected to be called into the studio on a Saturday, as she had the weekends off. She had figured out that people were onto the fake right away. She didn’t expect those against her to be a pair of sisters, their lawyer mother and some of their friends.

 

“Welcome, Mrs. Morgendorffer,” the executive, Leonard, said. “These are very serious accusations you and your clients are bringing against Ms. Anders, so let’s get to the point.”

 

“Very, good,” Mrs. Morgendorffer said. “Because misinforming the public about a public figure, even an elusive one like SpiderGirl, is immoral.”

 

 

‘What is right is one thing, and what’s legal is another,’ Tori thought. She had said it before, regarding rumors of SpiderGirl and the others investigating Oscorp, but she felt it applied to the current situation. ‘But I’m sure that Anders did is also illegal.”

 

“Let’s get to it,” Mrs. Morgendorffer said.

 

“What proof can you provide, besides Ms. Lane’s affidavit from her rescue from Quentin Beck.”

 

“It should be enough,” Jane said with slight annoyance.

 

“Jane, your turn will come,” Mrs. Morgendorffer said.

 

“There’s my experience,” Brittany added.

 

“We’ll need more than your unsubstantiated experience from December last year, Ms. Taylor,” Leonard said. “But Ms. Lane’s evidence is rather compelling.”

 

“Changing your mind?” Mrs. Morgendorffer asked.

 

“I’m considering things,” Leonard said.